Current status of Korean language education in Sakhalin

Abstract

Reviewing the history of ethnic education of Sakhalin Koreans, this paper reports on the current status of Korean language education in Sakhalin, based on our fieldworks. The fieldwork was conducted in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the capital of Sakhalin Oblast, from January 14, 2019 to March 17, 2020. We mainly interviewed officials of Sakhalin National University and Sakhalin Korean Education Institute, which are responsible for Korean language education in Sakhalin. At present, many Korean diaspora live in Sakhalin, who migrated to Sakhalin from the Korean Peninsula under Japanese occupation and their descendants. There are almost 25,000 Sakhalin Koreans, while total population in Sakhalin is about 490,000. The ethnic education of the Sakhalin Koreans began after the independence from Japan in 1945. Initially, it was supported by North Korea and the Koryo people, who are the Korean population living in Russia's Maritime Province and Central Asia. However, when the ethnic education was banned by the Soviet Union in 1964, it was abandoned officially. The ethnic education was later resumed after Perestroika and the Seoul Olympics. At present, there are no ethnic schools for Sakhalin Koreans in Sakhalin, and the two main institutions that teach Korean language and culture are Sakhalin National University and the Sakhalin Korean Educational Institute. A large number of Russian students are recently enrolled in both institutions, while Sakhalin Koreans tend to decrease. Both institutions are changing from being institutions for ethnic education to being institutions for everyone who wants to learn the Korean language and culture.